Tag Archives: #thoughts

Spirituality

Interesting Interactions

Yesterday I flew from Austin to New Orleans, Louisiana on Southwest Airlines. I don’t like to fly Southwest for a variety of reasons. The airline has open seating, the planes are packed, and the fleet is old. However, yesterday was a pleasant surprise!

The first surprise was that the plane wasn’t full. Second, the jet was new. Finally, I struck up a conversation with a fascinating young woman and it made the flight very interesting. She is a writer who has created a great story for film which I got her to share with me.

I listened, fascinated by her ability to make me see the story come to life in my mind. Her characters had depth and her storytelling was well thought out. Making a film is challenging. My hope is that her film gets produced. Hollywood needs new, exciting creative ideas!

The final surprise was my own reflection on myself. When I arrived at the airport I was counting the minutes until the flight would be over. My attitude needed work. Had I kept the same mindset I would have missed this wonderful conversation.

You never know who you might meet. Be ready!

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Spirituality

Reflecting

This morning I learned that a girl I used to know had passed away last night. While I haven’t seen her in decades, it still affects me. You see, she was a bright light in this world. Our world became a little darker without her in it.

We remember the people from our past. School friends, old girlfriends and even those who briefly passed through our lives are all in the mix. We hold them in our hearts. They have been a part of who we have become. I will always treasure the good people.

All of us are on the train to our final destination. The train ride began when we were born. It’s a great ride most of the time. There’s an occasional tunnel to pass through, but we come out of it. Then one day the conductor will say, “yours is the next stop.”

Life doesn’t end when we leave this world. We live on in eternity where there is peace and perfection. Make your difference on this side before the conductor stops by your seat.

Live with purpose…

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Spirituality

Willful Blindness

James was the half-brother of Jesus. He didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah until the resurrection. Could you imagine growing up having Jesus as your older brother? The kid never did anything wrong so you couldn’t blame him for anything!

The Book of James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. James has been referred to as the “in your face” Apostle because he talks straight. No ambiguity. The book is only five chapters but he packs a lot into it.

James 4:17 says “ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” This is haunting. Lots of things can distract us from doing good.

Let’s face it, sin is fun. If it wasn’t everyone would be good all the time. Sinful desires will tug at us all our lives. Yet, we aren’t powerless over it. God promises us a way out. Since God cannot lie, I believe it.

We will face temptation all our life. Let’s try to replace it by doing what is good and right. Then we will have the satisfaction of knowing we are living in God’s will…

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Spirituality

Armed and Dangerous

You and I are carrying a weapon of mass destruction. Did you know you are armed and dangerous? Very dangerous, actually.

The weapon I’m talking about is our tongue. The words we say to others, and ourselves, can be used to encourage others or they may be used for harm.

What we say can reverberate for generations. Consider the quotes from history that were offered by JFK, Abraham Lincoln, Churchill and countless others. They have inspired millions for good. Those great men and their legacies are countered by Nikita Khrushchev who vowed that the communists would “bury us, and they wouldn’t have to fire a shot.” They haven’t quit trying.

God gave us free will over our words and actions. He doesn’t want us to use them to hurt others. We should offer constructive criticism in private and leave the ridicule and name calling to the low thinkers. Aim higher.

In prisons, I have met so many people who are carrying pain from the words of others, oftentimes from family members. Sadly, they believe they are worthless and don’t matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone is important. Everyone matters.

My encouragement to you (and me) is to hold our tongues as best we can. Not everything needs a response. Not everyone deserves a response…

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Spirituality

Second Chances

There is a song by the group Shinedown that I really like. The song is called “Second Chance.” In the song is a lyric: “Sometimes goodbye is a second chance.” Perhaps there is something, or even someone in your life that it’s time to say goodbye to.

Everyone has a bad habit or two. They know it so you don’t need to point it out to them. They will break free when they are ready and not one second before. They will be doing it for themselves and not because of your nagging.

Sometimes there are people in your life who need to go. It might be a member of your family. It’s okay to say goodbye to them if they aren’t good for you. Maybe they constantly criticize you or cut you down. There’s a difference between constructive criticism which is done in private and criticism that’s designed to hurt you or embarrass you.

Do what you need to do to protect your mental and physical health. It’s your life. Make choices that bring out the best in you.

If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be any good to anyone else…

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Spirituality

Childlike Curiosity

We can learn a lot from toddlers. Yes, they ask a ton of questions, but they are just trying to learn. Everything catches their attention. You can almost see the neurons in their developing brains exploding.

Have you ever met someone who thinks they know everything? These so-called “experts” are draining to be around. They must weigh in on every discussion, letting us know how bright they are. These types of people rarely learn anything because they think they know it all already. Considering another point of view is foreign to them. Let them speak long enough and they will show you how little they actually know.

My encouragement to you is to approach life with the openness and curiosity of a child. Ask questions about everything. Children ask because they want to learn. Toddlers aren’t trying to show off how smart they are. They learn that behavior later.

Little children are pure and sweet, too. They are always watching, always learning, always curious…

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Spirituality

Baggage

The baggage I’m referring to in the title is unresolved trauma and emotional pain. When people say they don’t have baggage they mean they have been healed from their past. But what about those who are still carrying a heavy load?

From my reading and observation, over 80% of families in the United States are experiencing dysfunction. Emotional, physical and sexual abuse are spiking northward. Children, of course, are the most vulnerable. We can, we must reverse this trend.

Family values get ridiculed by some. But a solid family who resolves conflicts, loves each other and learns resilience provides the foundation for a better community. If you don’t know how to be a good parent, you can learn. There are multiple resources available through books and the internet. Even better, talk to people who have raised good kids. You can learn a lot from people who have been there before.

If you are dealing with issues from your past you need to heal from, I encourage you to talk about your life with a trusted friend. Find a psychotherapist who will walk you through it. There is peace on the other side of pain.

Most importantly, face it and don’t give up. It’s time to live fully…

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

Mistakes

Making mistakes is unavoidable. No decent person does it on purpose, but mistakes happen. Mistakes can be something we said or did, or it could be mistaken identity. But the question is, what do we do with it when we make a mistake?

Mistakes are learning tools. We learn what doesn’t work so we try to not make the same mistake again. When learning algebra, you go down a lot of wrong paths but eventually figure it out. This helps to form your mind and actually helps develop critical thinking.

There are those who like to throw out past in our faces, but only to remind us of everything we have done wrong. Those types of people are very small. They are insecure in themselves, so they try to make others feel insecure, too. Stay away from them, even if they are family members. They have their own issues to sort through and you can’t help them.

Keep your eyes on your future, not your mistakes of the past. You learned from them. That’s all. You live in the present moment.

Don’t allow the past to prevent you from trying something new. There’s a lot of life left to live…

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Spirituality

Against the Grain

Cutting meat against the grain is a way to make the meat more tender and easier to chew. But are there other times we should go against the grain? I believe so.

In this metaphor, the grain is society and culture. Going along to get along is sometimes okay, but not if it goes against your values. Picking on weaker people is never okay. Or gay people. Or animals.

As God’s creation, as all of us are, we are called to take care of others. This includes those who are marginalized and struggling. God sees everything, and he is really looking into our hearts. The heart is where our true personality and being are.

When you get your heart right, good things happen. Really good things…

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Spirituality

Choose Your Battles

If you’re on social media, you have probably observed that people like to fight. Something, anything happens and we must weigh in because, you know, our opinions are important! And when we state our case, the algorithm keeps feeding us similar posts to keep our righteous indignation alive.

Enough already! It’s time to change the game by altering our attention. For example, I cannot make a difference by commenting on the political arena. What happens in Washington is going to happen no matter what I say or believe. So I stay out of the conversation.

There are certain things all of us are effective at. By focusing our energy in those areas we can make an impact. Our efforts count for something. And here’s a universal truth: we want our lives to matter.

The time is right to make a choice. You may choose to stay involved in meaningless chatter, or get busy doing what you’re called to do.

Ask yourself a question: How do I want to be remembered? Once you come up with your answer to that relevant question, you get to choose whether to pursue your purpose or not.

It’s your choice. Choose wisely and then make your move into meaning and purpose. Ignore the battles that don’t get you where you’re going because they just don’t matter…

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